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HARDER! FASTER! Completing the quadrumvirate of intrepid artists covering an issue dedicated to the dynamic visionaries who fearlessly defy expectations are the most maligned monsters of metal, Metallica!

Refusing to be bound by the sometimes stifling restraints of those metal fans who dismiss creative development, Metallica have always pursued a resolutely progressive path that has yielded some rather unexpected results, with almost every album stirring unrest in their following. Throughout the years, they have been accused of being too classical, too populist, and even too loud. Whatever move they made, Metallica couldn’t win. Fortunately, however, they did not give a flying fuck.

“There has always been this dichotomy about we’re sort of leading the cavalry, but at the same time, we’re not leading the cavalry the way that a portion of that world wants us to lead it,” drummer and band co-founder Lars Ulrich explains to Clash, “and so we’ve always been somewhat at odds - somewhat at odds, not at odds - and there’s occasionally been some friction there.”

“You gotta get out there and live,” he says of his band’s restless creative curiosity, “and if you don’t live then you suffocate. You only get one life, so it’s like our time on the planet is way too short to have that much willful limit of your own options.”

In our exclusive cover interview with all four members, Clash further explores the thrilling and unwavering nature of rock's most prevailing gatecrashers, and attempt to navigate the complex web of their hardwired system.